Wee Waa Website Servicing the Community Since 1998

Wee Waa is Australia's Cotton Capital and the place Daft Punk selected to launch it's album Random Access Memories in 2013, a dynamic rural community situated in the rich agricultural heartland of the Lower Namoi Valley in North West NSW. The town of Wee Waa has a population of 2,080 which has fluctuated over the years, (according to the Census 2006 1,689, 2011 Census 2,433, and 2016 Census 2,080) and services a far greater rural community as well as the villages of Merah North, Spring Plains, Burren Junction, Pilliga and Gwabegar. The majority of this area is rich fertile country well suited to the agricultural pursuits that sustain the district and provide its people with a quality way of life.

Wee Waa is a mere 42 kilometres off the Newell Highway, west of Narrabri, and is a gateway to the far west centres of Walgett, Collarenebri, Lightning Ridge Opal Fields and beyond.

ABOUT WEE WAA

Wee Waa is Australi's cotton Capital and the place Daft Punk selected to launch it's album Random Access Memories in 2013, a dynamic rural community situated in the rich agricultural heartland of the Lower Namoi Valley in North West NSW.

Local News

Monday this coming week our Principal Kate Schwager of KateS On Web and the instigator of the Namoi Group of Websites will be talking at the Australian Regional Development Conference at the Sunshine Coast, what an honour for her abstract to be chosen

Her Abstract - Connecting the Regions – Through the Worlds Digital Platform, Under the Theme - Local Leadership; influence and information transfer.

Kate will be doing a 20 minute presentation at the Australian Regional Development Conference at the Sunshine Coast on the 17th September.

Barwon MP Roy Butler has renewed his party’s call for an independent audit of rural and regional public hospital services and staffing.

This call follows the deeply concerning revelations in the Four Corners report Health Hazard.

Mr Butler says the government needs to undertake an immediate independent audit of rural and regional public hospitals to determine what services are missing or lacking from hospitals; and the distribution of the health workforce across the State.

“It’s time to make the health, welfare and safety of people across rural and regional NSW a priority,” said Mr Butler.

Published: May 07, 2019

Farmers and concerned citizens in north west NSW say the latest submission made by Santos about its controversial Narrabri CSG project is “arrogant” and “dangerous”, with the company refusing to provide information and commitments requested by the State Government and Narrabri Council.

Santos recently submitted a “Supplementary Response to Submissions” to 14 NSW Government agencies’ requests for information, data, and commitments from the gas company regarding the environmental risks of its proposed coal seam gas project.

The map that does not make sense (unless you are the owner of the red box ie Santos).

No business case has been released for this greenfield rerouting of the Inland Rail right through the Pilliga forest (no farms in there!) and the CWA have now joined NSW Farmers and Labor in the call for an inquiry.

"The conference voted to request the federal government hold an independent inquiry into the green field routes and funding for the inland rail project."

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is seeking public input as part of a new investigation it is conducting into the regulation of lobbying, access and influence in NSW (Operation Eclipse).

The Commission released a discussion paper today, Enhancing the democratic role of direct lobbying in NSW, which, amongst other matters, addresses principles of transparency, integrity and fairness concerning or associated with lobbying practices in NSW. The Commission engaged academics Dr Yee-Fui Ng, Senior Lecturer, Monash University Faculty of Law, and Professor Joo-Cheong Tham, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, to prepare the discussion paper, which invites respondents to address questions based around the main principles.

The discussion paper is appended to an introductory paper, The regulation of lobbying access and influence in NSW: a chance to have your say, which also explains how to make a submission. In this paper, ICAC Chief Commissioner the Hon Peter Hall QC notes that lobbying, when conducted on proper lines, can have beneficial outcomes. However, it could also be argued that “lobbying might lead to decisions by government and/or public officials in circumstances of unjustified secrecy, where processes are sometimes criticised as lacking transparency or accountability, while particular groups or the public generally are denied the opportunity of being heard.”

The drought gripping much of NSW is tightening, forcing authorities to prepare to cut flows along a major river in the north west, while job losses loom as towns in the Northern Tablelands start to dry.

WaterNSW on Monday will announce that unless conditions improve, regulated flows along the Macquarie River below the town of Warren will cease from early spring to prioritise water supplies for towns and key users.

Julian Parsons - Sydney

As the federal elections approach and the financial year comes to a close, now is a good time to assess the state of your finances and plan your route towards financial stability. Whether you are planning your financial future or retirement or are thinking of the short and long-term financials of your business, financial flexibility is important to have in order to be secure.

Jamieson Murphy - Northern Daily Leader

SANTOS has been slammed for refusing to provide the NSW government with the requested information about its coal seam gas development near Narrabri.

The gas giant recently responded to the concerns of various organisations, including 14 government agencies, in its Supplementary Response to Submissions.

In the report, Santos refused more than a dozen specific requests for information and commitments from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the Rural Fire Service, and Narrabri council.

Narrabri farmer and Lock the Gate spokeswoman Sally Hunter said the company had refused the RFS's request to not flare gas during catastrophic bushfire conditions.

"This shows an extraordinary and reckless disregard for the safety of our community," she said.

"Santos has also refused the EPA's request to assess the capacity of landfill facilities to accommodate huge volumes of salt waste with potentially high concentrations of metals and other contaminants.

"It has refused Narrabri council's request that it obtain environmental insurance for offsite and long-term environmental harms, despite this being a recommendation made by the NSW Chief Scientist for all coal seam gas operations."

An NSW Department of Planning and Environment spokesperson said the company's response was being reviewed, in consultation with the relevant government agencies.

"In finalising its assessment, the Department may request additional information from Santos before referring the proposal to the Independent Planning Commission, which will make the final decision," they said.

"The Department wants to ensure a rigorous and comprehensive assessment is undertaken, given the complex nature of the application and the high level of community interest."

Hi friends, I suppose most have heard that I have stood aside for the election following public disclosure of a post I made on a Port Arthur conspiracy site on FB, 8 months ago. The Greens found it difficult to refute in this stage of the election which I understand. I really do apologise to all of you who have helped me get this far.

It appears I was targeted by a journo from The Australian using a firm who does handle searches on social media etc, not sure who they are. I really don't think the tragedies of the past need rehashing like this in public view and it must grieve families and survivors of the tragedy to see it being discussed like some political football. I also apologise to those people who are affected in this way, very much.

Barwon

This week I had the honour of delivering my inaugural speech in Parliament. An opportunity to talk about my goals for the next four years. To you the people I represent I restate my election commitments – to work hard and be honest.

Across the electorate I have met many people who are incredibly passionate about the future of their community. They want recognition that at this moment in the history of NSW the government is faced with a choice. They continue to treat the communities of western NSW in the same manner they have been or they change their focus and reinvigorate the bush.